


Unfinished Shorts

by LilyLuna2018



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - College, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Library, Gen, I mean it's not technically an AU but they work in a library, Islamophobia, Non-Graphic Violence, Oops, These are fun to write but take way longer than they should considering how short they are, These do feature relationships but they aren't typically the main feature, at least for now, just a quick mention of someone getting punched, sorry - Freeform, that's really it i think, there'll be more interesting tags in later ones
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-03
Updated: 2018-09-07
Packaged: 2019-02-27 23:09:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13258548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilyLuna2018/pseuds/LilyLuna2018
Summary: Some short stories that accompany my story and might be a part of it at some point. If people seem to like these I might post that as well.P.S. I live for feedbackP.P.S. If you want me to tag something, just tell me!





	1. The Outfit

**Author's Note:**

> I have no real schedule for writing these, just whenever they come to me, so it will be pretty sporadic, as will be the actual work if I decide to post that.

"Sarahhhh! I have a surprise for you..."

I sighed. Peyton's surprises were never a good thing when you're on the receiving end. Especially not now, since I could hear Nadiya trying to cover up her laughter where they had been talking in her room. I walked to where they were, ready to tell them they were being silly, when I saw the outfit Peyton had spread out on the floor.

"Nope." I turned around and tried to walk away, but I suddenly had two hands grabbing my body and holding me still while they could explain whatever plan they had for me and these clothes.

"Come onnn," Peyton whined. "We just want to see what you would look like!"

"In case you haven't noticed," I pointed out, "we have _very_ different fashion choices."

"Which is why I picked out the sweater!" Nadiya chimed. "This way, you'll be wearing what you usually do, just with a little bit of Peyton-esque flair."

I glanced at Peyton's hair, recently dyed to a pale purple. As much as I hated to admit it, it did actually look cool. It was such a pretty color and she somehow made it work, like with everything else she tried. "I think I'll pass." Nadiya's grip tightened on my arms before I relented, "Fine, I guess it wouldn't hurt to try it," trying to hide my curiosity at what I would look like in it.

I stepped out in front of them hesitantly. It was much closer to what Peyton might wear, and I wasn't sure I was entirely comfortable in it. Glancing in the mirror, I could tell it actually didn't look half bad on me. "It's very...green." The dark green sweater was surprisingly the right size, as were the black skinny jeans. I glanced first to Nadiya to see her reaction, only to see her covering her mouth, laughing silently, as she looked between me and Peyton. I turned to Peyton, whose eyes were wide and mouth slightly open, and who made no effort to change her expression.

Between their two very different reactions, I could feel my face getting hot and I turned once more to the mirror. There was the beanie in the same color as the sweater, a Slytherin scarf, and her favorite pair of boots. I looked back to see if Peyton had recovered from...whatever had happened to her, but she had just continued to stare.

Nadiya coughed a little forcefully and nudged her, startling her out of her trance. "Oh. It's, uh, it's good," she squeaked. Seeing as it didn't look like she was going to recover anytime soon, Nadiya gave her an almost disappointed look and shooed me off to change back into my regular clothes. Confused, I did, and came back to a still-staring Peyton and a Nadiya banging her head repeatedly on the wall, muttering to herself. I placed the clothes on Peyton's bed and decided it would be best if I just ordered pizza for the night.


	2. Twitter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize in advance for all the italics, but come on, they're whiny high-schoolers.

“Ugh, this assignment is annoying,” I complained to Peyton as soon as I turned the corner, making sure I was out of earshot of Mr. Ketter.

“What is it?” she asked. “Isn’t he the one that is usually super chill?”

“Yeah, he _usually_ is, until he does something like this. We have to make a twitter account and then use it to keep up with current events and stuff,” I groaned.

“Sarah! You are _16_ , how do you not have a twitter?? You know what, no. We’re going to the library right now and I’m making it for you.”

“We always go to the library after school though. And besides, you can’t talk! The only reason you have one is that you wanted to cyber-stalk those two YouTubers freshman year.”

“ _You promised you wouldn’t bring that up!_ ”

We laughed and walked to the library, a place home to many a study session over the past few years, with more to come now that junior year was upon us. We waved to Minnie as we entered, and I promised her that, yes, I was still working tomorrow night.

“Sarah, I still don’t get how you’re so comfortable around Ms. Moreno. I mean, you’re _you_ , and she’s so…intimidating.”

I looked back to where she was seated, scolding James, or no, it looked like ae might be Jane today. Sure, she could be intimidating to the newcomers, but I could also see the pride her eyes held when Jane came in wearing a dress for the first time, when Nadiya got her perfect SAT score back, when Eric decided he was ready to come out to his parents, when a kid shows her the book report they wrote on a book she recommended, when she saw that one kid talking to someone, when I told her that Peyton, who she didn’t even know, wanted to go to Stanford and become the next great physicist.

I told Peyton all this and she tilted her head, her eyes doing that thing they do when she gets lost in thought. “Is she married?” she asked suddenly.

“Mm, no I don’t think so. Why?”

“Oh, no reason. Just wondering.”

Before I could think of a response, I spotted Nadiya hunched over a book at a nearby table. We dropped our bags on the table and wandered over to the closest computer and bringing up the Twitter signup page. Peyton took over at this point since she knew what she was doing when it came to this. She entered my name and email, created a username and password then wrote them both down on a piece of paper so I wouldn’t forget, and turned the computer screen towards me.

“@100percentbooks? _Really?_ ”

“Hey, I would have done @definitelyabookworm but that’s over the character limit.”

“Why couldn’t you have done something simpler though, like just my name?”

“Come on, that’s boring. You need something special, so you can leave your mark on the world! Now, let’s follow some people. Let’s start off with Obama and some news sites, that seems like a good start. You can always follow more by searching them up here,” she gestured towards the search bar.

“Oh, are we getting Sarah up to 21st-century speed?” Nadiya’s voice asked from behind us.

“But _why_?” I asked. “Can’t I just ask you or something?”

Peyton sighed. “You remember that quote I complained to you about from _The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy_?”

“Which one?” Nadiya and I countered. She had heard enough of our discussions, whether by being around us too much or through me, to know just how many thoughts Peyton had on the series.

“Marvin at one point says ‘Life, loathe it or ignore it, you can’t like it.’ Well, that’s just not right; it really should be ‘loathe it or _love_ it, you can’t _ignore_ it’ because come on. As long as you live in this world, it’s near impossible to ignore what’s happening in it, especially now! We have _computers_ , guys! We should be able to be caught up with everything going on!”

I huffed. “Fine. But you have to make one too.”

“Well of course! I wasn’t going to make you do this without making one for myself. Besides, I really do need a new one to replace…the unmentionable.”

“Ship,” Nadiya whispered in my ear.

“Oh, shut up,” I said, shoving her off me. “I just see her point, is all.”

“Sure,” she smirked. “And I’m straight.”  
“And I’m done!” Peyton said, maybe a little too loudly for a library full of studying students.  
“@realBkgdSlyther?” Nadiya asked, trying to hold in a laugh.  
“Well @the_real_background_slytherin took up too many spaces, so I had to shorten it a little. Hey, what’s yours? I should follow you.”  
“@hijabyee, with two e’s at the end.” She sounded quite proud of that username, considering someone had already taken the idea.

 

“Well now that that’s done, who wants to tell me what Hamlet’s all about because I have a test tomorrow and I’ve only read the first scene.”


	3. Alter Egos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey so it's been a while hasn't it? I've been working on this story a lot and written a lot of shorts, but most of them either aren't finished or they are sort of vital to the plot of the story itself/I just want to surprise everyone with that scene so even though this is the 14th idea I've come up with, it's only the 3rd I'll be sharing with everyone.
> 
> My school had an arts fair-type thing and there was a little creative writing lesson on alter egos and this is my response to the prompt we were given! I hope everyone likes it!

“Go back to your country, terrorist!”

I stop in my tracks as Nadiya tries to pull me along.

“Just ignore them,” she hisses as her expression hardens. “It’s not worth getting into a fight over.”

“But, but, Nadiya! You can’t just let them say that! Besides, aren’t _I_ always the one that’s having to drag you away from something like this?”

“Sarah, just, drop it. Please. This isn’t anything new, trust me.” I reluctantly relent and turn away to follow her back to her apartment—mine too, in only a few weeks.

But suddenly I hear a cry of anger and feel Nadiya’s hand ripped from mine as the jerks spin her around and try to tear her scarf off. Try, because they don’t so much as touch her before the first one is on the ground, holding his stomach in pain.

I see the second and third men come forward. I see their arms wind up. Before I know it, I’m on the ground at Nadiya’s feet. I’m trying to process what just happened. I’m being dragged away. Away, away, away from the ones who mean to do my friend harm. 

Nadiya is staring at me, her mouth wide open, trying to comprehend. “Why did you jump in front of me?”

I look at her questioningly. Is that what happened? I don’t remember anything, just the hard feeling of the ground.

She dragged me over to a store window and made me look at my reflection. Although I can’t see the bruise, my eye is already starting to swell up. Dimly, I realize that my nose is hurting. I shrug, not sure what she wants me to say. 

 

_The memory fades away as I remember she looks at me in awe, as if seeing this whole new side of me she never expected…_

 

I jolt in my seat. I’m still at the table in my apartment, working on the assignment for my creative writing class. We were all supposed to go home and write about who our alter-egos are, if they’re another person or just a different side of ourselves. 

As I thought about the memory I just reexperienced, I also thought about all the other times I had acted so unnatural to who I thought I was. When I was confident, when I was loud about my opinions, when I was—my face heats just thinking about my not-so-successful attempts at it—flirtatious.  
It hits me and I grab my laptop as I start to type.

 

_My alter ego is confident, is powerful, and is commanding. She is flirty, she is loud, she is brash. She is courageous, yes, but she is also insensitive. She is everything I wish I could be, but am not. She is annoying but proud of it. She knows who she is and isn’t afraid to tell everyone. She is who I dream about and who I imagine myself to be. She is perfect and terrible and everything in between. She is Nadiya._

**Author's Note:**

> This is the outfit I reference: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/676525175247156509/


End file.
